The Thing About Religion

Italian Reliquary Cross

The rock crystal in the center of this Italian reliquary cross once held and magnified a fragment of wood from the True Cross, the cross on which Jesus was crucified. Each panel on the front side depicts images of the saints linked to Saint Francis of Assisi (the front and first five panels), and each panel on the back side shows images of the life of Jesus (the back and last five panels). (1) Saint Francis of Assisi is one of the most venerated figures in Christianity. He was an Italian Catholic friar, preacher, and mystic. He also founded the Franciscan order. During a moment of religious ecstasy, he witnessed the apparition of a Seraph angel and received the stigmata (bodily scars that correspond to the wounds of Jesus Christ during the Crucifixion). (2) This scene is depicted in the top panel of the front side (Front Panel 1).

Many Italian Franciscan communities commissioned works of art that used translucent enamel, which has the same visual effect as stained glass. Stained glass reflects medieval concepts of vision and materiality. It is believed to have diminished the gap between heaven and earth. Eye-catching visual elements, such as rock crystals and translucent enamel that has the effect of stained glass demonstrates the increasing interest in new visual methods to communicate and evoke religious devotion. (3) It also reveals the rising relevance of material in religion and importance of studying visual forms of religion.
(1) https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/464463

(2) https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Francis-of-Assisi

(3) Kilgore, Claire. 2017. "Chapter 1: Structure, Visibility, and Materiality in Early Reliquaries." In Viewing Heaven: Rock Crystal, Reliquaries, and Transparency in Fourteenth-Century Aachen, 10-28. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

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